Product liability insurance

What is product liability insurance?

Product liability insurance, part of AXA’s general public liability cover when you supply or sell products, will keep you safe in case of claims for third party injury caused by products you’ve manufactured, supplied or sold.

If you’re a retailer, or someone who’s created, supplied or sold products – then this cover could help protect your business. If you’re a manufacturer or precision engineer.

No matter the painstaking preparation and attention to detail you take with products you bring to life or sell to customers, accidents can happen and things can go wrong. And if something goes wrong along the way, resulting in a claim from a customer, it’s vital you’re properly protected.

Who needs product liability insurance?

Anyone who makes or supplies products/goods– whether as a manufacturer, producer, creator of component parts, retailer or online store, needs product liability insurance.

Say you’re a toy manufacturer, and a small part is swallowed by a child – it could cause serious injury and resulting in a claim. Or maybe you’re a furniture manufacturer, and the treated upholstery you’ve added to your pieces causes an allergic reaction in a customer. If either of these situations resulted in a claim, would you be able to cover the legal and compensation fees which would be involved?

If you’re not sure you could handle the price of these on your own, then product liability will be able to support you with this. Product liability insurance will cover compensation costs and legal fees associated with a claim, if there one is brought against you due to injury to a customer, or damage to their property.

You may need product liability insurance if:

• You’ve manufactured a product/ component parts which are used within a product
• You’ve imported or distributed the product
• You’re a retailer – online or offline

What's covered by product liability insurance?

Product liability insurance will cover physical, actual products that you sell, manufacture or supply – in case of a claim from a customer due to injury or damage.

What's the difference between product and public liability insurance?

Product liability insurance is a part of public liability insurance, but there is an important distinction in the protection that they provide.

Public liability insurance covers the work that you do or services that you provide– say, if someone is accidentally injured in your workplace, or their property is accidentally damaged because of work you carry out on their premises.

Product liability covers physical products or parts that you sell or provide, offering protection against accidental damage to third-party property and any injury that is caused by them.

How much does product liability cost?

Realistically, it’s almost impossible to put a one-size-fits-all price on insurance. It’s dependent on a wide range of variables: from the industry that you work in, to the type of products that you make, where you sell/supply/manufacture these products – plus, the price of the things you create.